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Abstract

Further development of quantum emitter based communication and sensing applications intrinsically depends on the availability of robust single-photon detectors. Here, we demonstrate a new generation of superconducting single-photon detectors specifically optimized for the 500–1100 nm wavelength range, which overlaps with the emission spectrum of many interesting solid-state atom-like systems, such as nitrogen-vacancy and silicon-vacancy centers in diamond. The fabricated detectors have a wide dynamic range (up to 350 million counts per second), low dark count rate (down to 0.1 counts per second), excellent jitter (62 ps), and the possibility of on-chip integration with a quantum emitter. In addition to performance characterization, we tested the detectors in real experimental conditions involving nanodiamond nitrogen-vacancy emitters enhanced by a hyperbolic metamaterial.

Fig. 3 a) Maximum count rate (blue) and quantum efficiency (red) of the detector at 532 nm wavelength as a function of detector bias current. b) Detector count rate (blue) and effective current (red): experimental data (solid lines) and modeling results (dashed lines); bias current is 0.62 Ic. Green line is for constant voltage regime corresponding to bias current of 0.62 Ic set at 1 MHz count rate. Effective current was measured by exponential fitting of the detector signal decay. c) Detector count rate as a function of input photon rate at 532 nm for different bias current (shown on the plot as a fraction of critical current) d) Next photon detection probability under exposure (bias current is 0.62 Ic, count rate is 123 MHz); dead time is 3 ns; after 10 ns detector is almost fully recovered.

Fig. 4 Measured g(2)(τ) from a single NV center on top of hyperbolic metamaterial with APD (a) and SSPD (c). Graphs (a) and (c) represent raw g(2)(τ) measurements, while (b) and (d) – g(2)(τ) measurements after background compensation, which resulted in effective improvement of signal-to-noise from 3 to 100.

Fig. 6 Results of g(2)(0) calculations based on the model described for realistic experimental parameters. We made the following assumption about the signal into the detector: an input count rate of 80k counts per second and a noise level of 37k counts per second, giving signal-to-noise ratio of 2.3. a) g(2)(0) versus emitter lifetime. The orange curve represents an estimate for a real APD with dark counts, green corresponds to ideal APD with no dark counts but the same jitter of 350 ps as the real one, while the black dash dotted line represents an APD with dark counts as specified in data sheet. The black and blue lines correspond to the SSPD with and without dark counts. b) Level of g(2)(0) for a given life time of 3 ns versus the quantum efficiency of the detector. SSPD curve was only calculated starting from 0.001 quantum efficiency which is still enough to overcome dark counts with a signal assumed above.